Gator Stare

I didn't hang around to find out but I think this gator may have wanted a piece of me.  I was walking along the bank of a creek looking for wading birds or snakes and I found him.  Alligators normally don't hunt from ambush and people aren't their first choice for dinner but I didn't care for the intensity of the look he was giving me.  If you find yourself in a position like this you don't want to run because these guys can outrun you anyway.  There are many old Florida jokes about always walking in gator country with someone who runs slower than you do but I was alone and there are probably extremely few people that I could outrun anyway.  I just backed away slowly and thankfully he just stayed put.  I also have to be clear on one thing.  I was on his turf and it is my risk to be there.  My wife and I were at Emeralda Marsh the other day and she was down very close to the waterline looking at Pickerel Weed blooms and ran across a 4 foot cottonmouth.  The snake did what they always do and ran (so to speak) for cover.  It's called wildlife for a reason and it's our responsibility to use caution, they don't need to be destroyed or consigned to a zoo on our behalf.